I want to say nice things about Devil’s Due because it stars Zach Gilford (Saracen for life), but this looks like a bad knock off of Paranormal Activity. And those movies are already pretty bad.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Originally scheduled for Christmas day, this got kicked to make room for The Wolf of Wall Street. But if Paramount had any real faith in it, they wouldn’t have dumped it in January, they would have saved it for like, April.

Fuck you, it’s January.

The Nut Job

I had literally not ever heard of this movie until I sat down to write this preview. It looks wretchedly bad, but if you have little kids, eh. Probably fine. By “little kid”, though, I mean like, really little. Like the kind of little that pretty much just eats and sleeps and shits. It’s not like they really notice stuff anyway, right? It’s all just pretty colors and shapes. Pretty colors and shapes, and the beginnings of a latent fear of squirrels.

Ride Along

Here’s what I don’t get. Kevin Hart is damn funny as a stand-up, but every movie he’s in is just complete shit. Can we not get this guy a better vehicle? Can we please not make Kevin Hart into the black Kevin James?

January 24

Gimme Shelter

This is Disney pop tartlet Vanessa Hudgens’ bid to be taken seriously as an actress. You can tell she’s serious because she has short hair and wears a hoodie. Hudgens stars as a runaway teen looking for her rich father…played by Brendan Fraser. Remember when Brendan Fraser was a thing?

I, Frankenstein

FUCK YOU, IT’S JANUARY.

January 31

Brightest Star

Starring a cast of young people I’ve never heard of plus Clark Gregg and Allison Janney, Brightest Star is about a guy trying to win back the girl of his dreams. One day I’m going to write a movie where a first-love couple breaks up then just like, stays broken up, gets over each other, and moves on to find satisfying relationships with other people.

Limited/On Demand

Grand Piano

This one doesn’t actually open in theaters until March, but it’s a promising looking horror movie—way better than anything else in that genre on offer this month. Starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack, Grand Piano is about a concert pianist (Wood) whose life is threatened just before he begins a performance. It looks tense and interesting, and also has the benefit of some lovely classical music on the soundtrack.

I keep getting career prospectus requests for Wood over on LaineyGossip, but he’s doing exactly what he wants to do, which pretty much amounts to “making quirky horror movies and Wilfred, and farting around with his indie record label”. Wilfred is pretty great, and his horror output has been consistently good. Don’t worry about Wood. He’s doing fine.

On Demand

That Awkward Moment

On the one hand, this movie stars Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now) AND Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale, Friday Night Lights). On the other hand, it also stars elf king Zac Efron. Efron’s probably hoping that the recent good fortune that Teller and Jordan have had will rub off on him, but it’s more likely that this will be the forgettable, “made before they broke out” film that no one holds against Teller and Jordan.

4 thoughts on “Winter Movie Preview: January 2014”

I can’t f***ing wait to see Her and Inside Llewyn Davis! It’s been an eternity. Hey Sarah, are you going to post a longer review of Her as you wrote before? I’d love to read it after I see Her. And I have to confess, I’ll also see That Awkward Moment just for Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller (Love them so much on Fruitvale Station and The Spectacular Now, respectively), even thought I’ll have to see Zac Efron’s “acting skills”.

Hercules has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. 0%! Someday when it hits netflix I am going to enjoy the heck out of it.

Of the non-Oscar movies my guess is Jack Ryan could have a decent run. With that release date I assume they dream of Taken money and have fingers crossed for Cloverfield/Chronicle money. The second one could happen. It’s the only thing my father has expressed an interest in seeing in the next while. That character has a following. The way studios operate these days it’s probably guaranteed a sequel.

I wanted to end on an I, Frankenstein joke but…nope can’t be bothered. This is one I don’t think is getting a sequel. 😉